This invention relates to devices for erecting cartons and for supporting cartons during packing.
Such devices should be compact and allow easy access to the carton during filling, particularly where manual filling is used. Moreover, the device should reliably fold the carton flaps to avoid costly delays. Finally, the device should reliably and quickly discharge the filled carton to a conveyor. While automation of these various functions on the device improves the speed and efficiency of carton erecting and loading, mechanisms which hinder access to the carton by loading personnel should be avoided.
Various approaches are known for erecting the cartons. For example in Lesek U.S. Pat. No. 4,063,492, the bottom side flaps are folded by rollers which engage those flaps from the bottom and roll along the flap while moving it upwardly into a horizontal position.
Tucker et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,358,567 (which is hereby incorporated by reference) discloses a mechanism that includes swinging doors to fold the carton flaps. Kemp U.S. Pat. No. 3,591,553 shows two "folding arms" located respectively on opposite sides of a conveyor which move inwardly to fold opposed flaps of a blank for a box or carton.
Various approaches are known for moving the loaded carton from its support. Lesek (cited above) and Mancini, U.S. Pat. No. 3,967,434 disclose a carton push bar which is driven by a centrally located piston to discharge the carton from its loading support.
Various patents [Anderson U.S. Pat. No. 3,971,467, Nigrelli U.S. Pat. No. 2,997,833, and Mancini U.S. Pat. No. 3,967,434] disclose systems in which a drive moves boxes along a path.
Finally it is known to tilt the box or carton during filling [See, e.g., Rouse U.S. Pat. No. 3,229,444, Morano U.S. Pat. No. 3,269,083, and Staley U.S. Pat. No. 3,585,782].
The above-described systems offer less than optimal performance with respect to compactness, overall reliability and to the efficiency and interrelationship of the flap-folding and discharge mechanisms.